About

What's going on:

The TMT Corporation and the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents are proposing to build a new massive, 18-story telescope, 21,000 square foot office building, road, and parking lot on conservation lands and "ceded" crown lands on Mauna Kea’s summit, called the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT).

Wrong for the mountain:

Mauna Kea is unique in the world, a place of deep significance in the Hawaiian worldview, and home to rare Hawaiian plants and animals found nowhere else on the planet. Mauna Kea was honored among the sacred places of the world in a National Geographic (January 2011) Special Edition titled, “The Earth’s Holiest Places: Sacred Journeys.”

What's next:

The construction permit for the massive Thirty Meter Telescope complex was considered by the Board of Land and Natural Resources on February 25, 2011. They said "no bulldozers" until a full appeal -- known as a contested case -- is complete.

Take Action! Join your voice with hundreds around Hawai'i! We asking the Land Board reject this permit application, and take true, strong steps to protect the future of Mauna Kea. You can join in action today by signing this petition in support of Hawai'i's sacred summits:

What impact will it have? - Construction proposed for the northern plateau, some of the last undeveloped area on the summit - Structure will interrupt viewplane to Haleakalā - Will be visible from 14% of the island, including Waimea Park, Pu'u Kapu & Wa'awa'a, Honoka'a, & Pu'ukohalā - Current telescopes are visible from 43% of the island - Telescope operations will create 74 dbA of noise - Will produce 120-250 cubic feet of solid waste a week - Will use 5,000 gallon underground tank to store hazardous chemicals- Road will require additional construction on Pu'u Kūkahau'ula.

The Final EIS for the project admits that telescope construction has had a substantial adverse impact on the natural and cultural resources of the conservation district on the summit. Here is a link to the developers' description of the TMT: www.tmt.org.

Done Deal?Of course, the University Board of Regents sees the proposal as a done deal, and would like us to believe it too. The developers of this project have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in a massive PR campaign, assuring us that TMT will have little impact on the summit and that past problems with resource management have been fixed--all hunky dory. But we know that this is not so.

Mauna Kea Flyer that can be distributed to family, friends, co-workers, visitors, and the general public to inform others about what is happening on our sacred mountain, our sacred piko. There are 2 versions, one black & white and one color. The information is the same on both, depending on availability of funds, someone can print either b&w or color.

We want to acknowledge Tiare of Wana'ao Designs for her assistance, time, and creativity in doing several drafts to get it to this final version.